Studies on the role of digital technology in teaching and learning English tend to focus on secondary or higher education contexts and/or with literate or educated students. The recent global pandemic has highlighted the urgent need to advance digital equity and inclusion for adult learners with limited education and literacy. Despite their basic…

Despite rapid advances, modeling a variety of instructional designs to support variations in teaching and learning during the design of educational technologies is still an open challenge. In this paper, we propose a patterns based approach for the design of educational technologies to address this challenge. This is in contrast with existing…

This paper focuses on the importance of multilingual literacy in the 21st century and, specifically, how adult learners across the globe can develop multilingual literacy skills necessary for successful communication and global citizenship. The paper includes a theoretical (research background, definitions, critical framework) and a practical…

Reading comprehension is often assessed by having students read passages and administering a test that assesses their understanding of the text. Shorter assessments may fail to give a full picture of comprehension ability while more thorough ones can be time consuming and costly. This study used data from a conversational intelligent tutoring…

One out of six adults in the United States possesses low literacy skills. Many advocates believe that technology can pave the way for these adults to gain the skills that they desire. This article describes an adaptive intelligent tutoring system called AutoTutor that is designed to teach adults comprehension strategies across different levels of…

This article explores the links between English as a second language (ESL) instruction and literacy instruction through an examination of viewpoints from eight teachers in two Canadian provinces. Four of these teachers worked in government--funded adult ESL and literacy education programs for a large urban school district in the province of…

The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of text-to-speech computer software in prison educational centers. Incarcerated adult learners with low literacy skills in two midwestern incarceration facilities used adaptive technology for a 5-month period. A statistically significant difference was found between pretest and posttest…

The Programme for International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) will establish technical standards and guidelines to ensure that the survey design and implementation processes of PIAAC yield high-quality and internationally comparable data. This document provides a revised version of the technical standards and guidelines originally…

Now in its third edition, the "Handbook of Research on Teaching the English Language Arts"--sponsored by the International Reading Association and the National Council of Teachers of English--offers an integrated perspective on the teaching of the English language arts and a comprehensive overview of research in the field. Prominent…

There are many readability tools that instructors can use to help adult learners select reading materials. We describe and compare different types of readability tools: formulas calculated by hand, tools found on the Web, tools embedded in a word processing program, and readability tools found in a commercial software program. Practitioners do not…

Originally written for adult new readers involved in literacy programs, this book is also helpful to those individuals who want a basic book about computers. It uses the carefully controlled vocabulary with which adult new readers are familiar. Chapter 1 addresses the widespread use of computers. Chapter 2 discusses what a computer is and…

The following steps will integrate computers into a volunteer literacy program: (1) decide how the computers will be used, depending on the program's needs (typically, computers are used to help with management chores and to motivate students and help them attain their academic and career goals); (2) investigate software and hardware, including…

Although information and communication technologies have become an integral part of life in the United States, they have not yet been adequately integrated into adult language and literacy programs. This raises concerns because of the potential value of technology for enhancing learning and because of the vital role of technological proficiency as…

This volume, one of a series of eight curriculum guides compiled by the Colorado Workplace Learning Initiative: 1991-92, includes five courses on functional skills for a workplace literacy curriculum. Introductory materials include a table of contents, a list of the curriculum topics covered in each guide, and a section called "Hello…

Following an introductory section that provides a rationale for using computers in workplace literacy classes, this guide reviews six computer programs and provides activities that teachers can use with the programs in teaching workplace literacy classes. The six computer programs reviewed are as follows: "Grammar Games,""Spell It 3,""The Way…